Article counting and transferring apparatus



June 26, 1956 E. E. LAKSO 2,752,071

ARTICLE COUNTING AND TRANSFERRING APPARATUS Filed June 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. EINO E- LAKSG BY I June 26, 1956 E. E. LAKSO 2,752,071

ARTICLE COUNTING AND TRANSFERRING APPARATUS Filed June 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 6 I INVENTOR. EINO E. LAKSO F I I rroezvsv United States PatentO ARTICLE COUNTING AND TRANSFERRING APPARATUS Eino E. Lakso, Fitchburg, Mass., assignor to The Lakso Company Incorporated, Fitchburg, Mass., at corporation of Massachusetts Application June 24, 1952, Serial No. 295,258

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-277) This invention relates to a new and improved article counting and transferring apparatus and the principal object of the invention resides in the provision of means for accurately counting a number of articles arranged in a plurality of side-by-side parallel lines in combination with means for stopping the progress of said articles, during reception thereof in the counter, operating to provide for the continued progress or transfer of said articles in a single continuous line, and including means for automatically allowing the progress of a single complete line of articles followed by a second complete line of the plurality of lines, etc.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a drop type platform of the general description shown in copending application Ser. No. 217,222 filed March 23, 1951, now Patent No. 2,701,671, the present invention representing an improvement thereon for smoother operation of the article transferring means preventing any possibility of jamming, etc., in the discharge part of the device.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of apparatus as above described including a drop platform which is pivoted and which is provided with means for alternately lowering and raising 'the same, the raised position thereof representing a reception and counting part of the cycle and the dropping or lowering position thereof representing a discharge portion of the cycle, said drop platform being provided with a series of spaced parallel ribs forming passageways receiving articles from a hopper or other means and arranging the same in a plurality of parallel lines, there being a relatively fixed barrier at the discharge end of the drop platform, this barrier preventing progress of the articles when the platform is in raised position; but when the platform drops, the articles feed out by gravity and are discharged to a chute, the lower edge of the barrier being on an incline so that one line of articles is discharged first, the second line is discharged immediately thereafter, etc., as the platform lowers, and the effect is that all of the plurality of lines of articles are discharged in a single continuous line into the discharge chute, which may lead the single continuous line of articles into a container, and by this means there will be no jamming in the discharge chute since the articles are all essentially led or dropped down one after the other and not simultaneously.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the present invention, part being broken away and parts being omitted for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 2 is an end view showing the barrier when the plat form is in raised position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the platform starting downwardly;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the action of the covers for the drop platform, parts being in section;

2,752,071 Patented June 26, 1956 ice Fig. 5 is a view in elevation showing the action of the platform; and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view thereof, parts being broken away.

Referring now to the drawings, it is first pointed out that the present invention is shown as applied to a double device having a pair of discharge chutes 10 and 12 separated by partition 26, each of which has an aperture in the bottom thereof for leading articles into two separate containers. The discharge chutes 10 and 12 are fixed in position and are mounted on a part of the frame of the machine which is represented at 14, 14.

A pair of pivot pins are indicated at 16, these pins pivoting a drop or discharge platform indicated at 18 for movement between a generally up position represented in Fig. 1 and a down position shown in broken lines in Fig. 5. In the up position, the platform is not necessarily horizontal since the feeding of the articles contemplated in this case depends on gravity; but of course any force for feeding the articles forwardly may be used and in some cases the platform may be horizontal when in its uppermost position.

A support is indicated at 20, which support is more fully described in the copending case referred to and provides for the progress forwardly in the direction of the arrow of a quantity of tablets, pills, or any other articles which proceed along the support 20 and enter into passageways on the drop platform 18, said passageways being provided by a series of parallel spaced ribs 22, which extend longitudinally of the path of travel of the articles and are mounted on the drop platform.

The drop platform 18 in the case illustrated is slotted centrally thereof as at 24, so that when it descends, a partition 26 is provided for so that the articles on the right-hand portion of the drop platform descend into chute 12 and those on the left-hand portion thereof descend in the chute 10.

A pair of hinged doors or covers 28 are provided to form the tops of the passageways and these may be hinged as at 30 to the drop platform 18 so as to be easily opened to remove jammed or broken articles in the passageways. These doors are preferably made of transparent material.

Mounted on the frame of the machine as at 14 are a pair of barriers 32 which align with the open discharge ends or edges of the platform 18 to prevent the exit therefrom of any articles when the platform is in raised position as illustrated in Fig. 2.

These barriers are each provided with an inclined lower edge 34 so that the barrier in the present double construction is thinnest at the center and gradually widens in a vertical direction outwardly to the frame part members 14.

The articles proceed along the support 20 and enter into the passageways described while the platform is in raised position, and means is provided as illustrated in the copending case to interrupt the forward progress of articles on support 20 when the passageways have become filled and are to be lowered, but this means in not pertinent to the present invention and has been omitted from the present case.

When the passageways are loaded, the drop platform 18 starts to drop as illustrated in Fig. 3, relative to barrier bar 32. Looking at Fig. 3, the passageway indicated at 36 is uncovered first; the action is timed so that all of the articles A in this passageway slide out from the same and into the respective chute before passageway 38 is uncovered, but at the instant that the last article in passage 36 exits, the first article in passageway 38 starts, and the instant that the last article in passageway 38 exits, the first article in passageway 40 starts, etc., so that a continuous single stream of articles flows from the 7 What I claim is:

multiple lines of articles onthe drop platform into the espectivechutestandthenceinto the,respectivekcontainers.

Having thus described myinvention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be -limited to the details herein disclosed, l otherwise than .as set forth inithe clai'rns, but

' 1. Article counting-apparatuscomprising a tiltingflrop platform for alternate lowering to deposit articles and raising to receive and temporarily store a succeeding ly separately, and a continuous single line .of articles is discharged rmtil the platform is empty.

2. Article counting and transferring apparatus comprising a platform pivoted adjacenttanarticle receiving edge to provide for rising and falling of theopposite article discharge edge, means forming parallel passages on the platform leading from the receiving edge to the discharge edge thereof, a double discharge chute to receive articles from the said platform discharge edge, a partition dividing the chute, said platform having a slot to receive thepartition as the platform rises and falls, and an article barrier for veach .chute at the discharge, endcf the platform holjding back all articles in thepassages while the platform is raised said barriers having inclined lower edges below which the platform discharge edge descends releasing the articles to fall in order as determined by the inclined barrier edges.

3. Single line discharge'apparatusfor a-multiple 1ine counting device comprising a movable platform, a series of parallel spaced passageways on the platform for a multiple'line of articles saidplatform havi'nga discharge end, a barrier at the discharge end of the platform adapted to stop progress of all articles while the platform is in one position, means to 'move the platform toward another position away from the barrier so that the barrier does not stop the progress of the articles, said barrier having an operating edge arranged at an incline with respect to the platform so that the multiple lines of articles on the platform proceed to:be discharged one-by-one as provided by the inclination of the barrier-edge, as the platform moves away from the barrier.

References Cited in theme of this patent FOREIGN IPATENTS 

